Li Peng

Li Peng (20 October 1928-) was Premier of China from 24 November 1987 to 17 March 1998, succeeding Zhao Ziyang and preceding Zhu Rongji.

Biography
Li Peng was born in Shanghai, China in 1928, the son of a Communist Party of China official. When his father was executed by the Kuomintang, he was adopted by Zhou Enlai, and he joined the CPC in 1945. From 1948 to 1955, he studied at the Institute for Energy Sciences in Moscow. Upon his return, he became a chief engineer at electricity works in north-east China, and in 1966 became responsible for the energy supply in Beijing. He survived the Cultural Revolution with his reputation relatively unharmed, and in 1981 became Minister for Electricity Supply. He joined the central committee of the CPC in 1982, and in 1985 became a member of the Politburo. Largely on account of his technical and industrial know-how, he succeeded the reformist Premier, Zhao Ziyang. He supported Deng Xiaoping during the Tiananmen Square protests, and emphasized the party's conservative Maoist ideology in its attempts under Jiang Zemin to adapt to economic reform. His term as premier expired in 1998, and the Chinese government broke up his family's large power monopoly.